If only I could
by SecondFavoritePerson
Summary: The only ship this is, is a friendship. Sorry to disappoint. It's basically about two friends who love each other an awful lot.
1. come over

Emily had been sitting on her best friend's bed for about an hour now. His mother let her in when she showed up around 3 p.m., even though she knew Mace wouldn't be home until 4. His mother seemed to like Emily, but she wasn't a big fan of hers to be honest. Though that didn't really matter since what counted was that she got to visit her friend as often as she wanted without it causing any trouble. Emily kind of suspects that Mace's mother thinks they are dating, which wouldn't make sense since Mace has a boyfriend, unfortunately for her. Anyway, she didn't really care if his mother sees them as a couple or not, actually it was quite funny and it grants her free access into her best friend's room. After an hour of waiting the door finally opened, indicating that she was done being alone for today. At first when Mace saw his unexpected visitor sitting on his bed there was a look of surprise on his face, but it vanished in less than a second. Mace flopped down on his bed and let out a long sigh.

 _"Do you want a hug?"_ Emily asked.

 _"Yes"_ Mace mumbled, his voice muffled by his pillow.

They both moved to a more comfortable position to hug. Mace sat up and Emily moved to sit behind him and put her arms around him as tight as she could without hurting him. Emily had known Mace would need this hug since this morning to be honest, that's the reason she went over to his house so early, so she would be there when he got home.

 _"Not a good day?"_ Emily asked when they were both sitting comfortably.

 _"It was okay, I'll be fine"_ he answered.

At that moment, Mace's little sister entered the room, probably to see if her brother was free for some cuddle time. Emily signed for her to come closer.

 _"Can you take care of your brother for a minute for me? Hold him very tight and don't let go, okay?"_ she asked her with a wink.

The little girl was more than willing to hug her older brother, Emily had always been filled with awe when she saw how much those two love each other. After she made sure that her best friend was being taken care of, she went looking for the laptop. Mace was too busy cuddling his sister, so she didn't want to bother them by asking. Eventually Emily found the laptop under a mountain of stuffed animals. The question wasn't why there were so many stuffed animals in the boy's room, everyone was aware the boy was obsessed with them, but why the laptop was buried underneath them was a mystery. Not that it mattered, the laptop was found and ready to be used. Emily positioned the laptop on the bed so that everyone would have a clear view on the screen. Since it would've been cruel to interrupt cuddling time and the two siblings seemed to enjoy it, Emily just sat next to them. She hit play and she could just feel how her friend cheered up a little when he saw which movie they were about to watch. Seems like Emily made the right choice by picking Moana.

About an hour into the movie there was a knock on the door. It was Mace's mother to tell them the little girl, who was already falling asleep, had to go to bed. She kissed her older brother goodnight and gave him one last hug before she followed her mother out of the room. The door had barely been closed and Mace already started to reposition himself to cuddle up to his next substitute pillow. He rested his head in Emily's lap and in that position they continued to watch the movie. Well, at least for another few minutes until Emily realized that her friend had fallen asleep on her. She couldn't blame him though, school can be exhausting, especially if you're not having a good day. Of course Emily wanted to know what was wrong, but that could wait until the morning. She used her foot to close the laptop with as little movement as possible, that way the music at the end of the movie wouldn't wake up the sleeping beauty. She herself wasn't tired yet, so she just stared at the beautiful boy in front of her, loving how peaceful he looked when he was asleep. This happened quite often, basically every time the boy fell asleep on her, but she never told him. Even she thought it was rather creepy, but she couldn't help it. He was just so adorable and gorgeous and she just loved him so much. Emily felt so blessed with Mace as her best friend. After almost an hour of staring, Emily decided to get some sleep as well. Because she was sitting up and Mace hadn't moved an inch yet it was kind of hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in and she would probably regret this in the morning, but the boy was sleeping so peacefully, it would be worth having an aching back in the morning if that meant Mace would get a goodnight's sleep. She whispered goodnight, even though she knew he couldn't hear it, and turned off the light so that she too could go to sleep, only being slightly bothered by the little light that was always on in her best friend's room. For him, she would do anything, even sleep with the light on.


	2. move in with you

_"_ _Where's that little shit when you need him?"_ Emily asked herself while carrying the heavy bag of groceries up the stairs. She had texted Mace about 15 times by now, but not once had he even read her should've just taking his offer when he offered to go get the groceries this time, but Emily was already done with her homework and Mace wasn't, so that didn't really seem fair. When she thought about it again, she didn't really care about fairness anymore though. She put down the bags and opened the door, being lazy and tired as she was she just pushed them in with her foot instead of picking them up again. Just when she was about to start ranting to her roommate about the function of a cellphone, she noticed that the boy had fallen asleep while reading a book for school. The book was still lying on top of him and his bookmaker had fallen to the floor. Waking him up gently would've been the friendly thing to do, but that's not how this friendship worked. They were way past being friendly to each other. So, instead Emily grabbed the polaroid from her room to take a picture of the sleeping boy, she had to be quick before he woke up though. The bright flash that followed the click of the camera woke Mace up. Though she knew that would happen, she felt slightly guilty for waking him up. But hat guilty feeling didn't last long when she remembered why she was mad at him less than two minutes ago.

 _"_ _Why do you even have a phone when you have no intention on using it?"_ Emily asked her friend with that same annoyed voice she had used earlier when she was talking to herself. In the meantime she pinned the picture she had just taken to the wall where she kept her collection of pictures. Mace tried taking them down when she first started doing this, but her wall, with pictures of every time her best friend had fallen asleep on her, was actually her favourite part of the apartement.

 _"_ _I am so sorry. I really didn't mean to fall asleep… again."_ Mace said with a look on his face that made Emily realize he was truly feeling guilty about this. And even though she might've been mad at him, that feeling was instantly gone when she saw the sad look on her best friend's face.

 _"_ _Don't feel guilty, you can't help it that you are tired. Just try to stay awake long enough to make us dinner, please? Because I'm sure as hell not going to do that."_ Emily laughed.

 _"_ _I won't. I promise."_ Mace said, _"I'm going to take a shower now so I'll be wide awake to prepare our meal and not burn the kitchen down while doing so."_ He quickly got up and moved to the bathroom.

About 15 minutes later the bathroom door opened and Mace walked towards the kitchen where Emily had just finished putting the groceries away. Since it was Summer and the temperature had been a bit out of control the past few days, Mace wasn't wearing that many clothes. He put on a white shirt and some shorts so he would be comfortable and not be bothered by the heat. Damn, did Emily love those warm days. Not because she liked the sun or the heat, but because how her friend dressed for this weather. They have never been anything more than best friends, but that doesn't mean Emily could ignore how stunning her friend was, especially when his hair wasn't completely dry yet and there was still some water dripping over his face. To Emily, that's what art looked like. Not that she said anything though, making both appropriate and inappropriate comments about Mace's look was his boyfriend's job. No, Emily just stared for a moment, until she realized her friend was smiling at her which then made her realize she got caught. While Mace continued drying his hair, Emily asked him if he wanted anything to drink.

 _"_ _Is there any chance you bought me what I asked for right before you left?"_ Mace asked hopeful.

 _"_ _Damn it."_ Emily looked at him with an apologetic face.

 _"_ _Ow"_ Mace said, the disappointment visible on his face and hearable in his voice.

Emily took pity on the poor guy and quickly turned around to grab the glass of strawberry milk, which she had poured him right after he went to the bathroom, out of the fridge. At the sight of that Mace looked at her with what seemed like a combination of a glare and a thankful face. He finished his drink in just a few seconds after which he whispered "thank you". Emily didn't say anything, but instead she just winked at him.

 _"_ _So, how about you start cooking now and I will take a nap?"_ Emily asked way too hopeful, since she already knew what the answer would be.

 _"_ _How about you help me a bit and we both take a nap later?"_ Mace answered.

He used to agree with his friend taking a nap while he was cooking, it's not like it bothered him, but he quickly learned that he shouldn't allow her to do that. Emily could be rather grumpy when she just woke up and sleeping seemed to take away her appetite. So, after a few days of living together he decided he would always make sure his best friend had no chance to fall asleep before dinner.

 _"_ _Would you mind cleaning the vegetables for me?"_ Mace asked her as sweet as he could, batting his eyes to convince her even more.

 _"_ _If by cleaning you mean throwing them in the trash, sure"_ she smiled back at him.

Mace rolled his eyes at her and handed her the vegetables she had to clean, knowing that she would do it anyway, no matter how much she hated vegetables.

 _"_ _Why do I even allow you to do the cooking if you always force me to eat vegetables?"_ She asked while throwing him a dirty glare.

 _"_ _Because you always say you can't cook, even though I've offered multiple times to teach you. So basically, it's because you are too lazy"_ he smirked.

 _"_ _Yeah yeah, wipe that smirk of your face, smart ass. You got work to do."_ They both laughed and continued what they were doing while singing some songs and pretending they were part of a reality show. Even though they argue a lot, they both couldn't have asked for a better roommate and they know it.


	3. have you here

It's was almost 2 p.m. and Mace was almost done with his artwork for school. All he needed now to finish it was the paint he had asked Emily to get for him. He could've done it himself, but then he would have to work even longer and he really wanted to do something fun instead. Mace looked at his phone and realized his friend had been gone for almost three hours now. Which is a long time, even for her. Mace was just about to call her when he got an incoming call from him boyfriend.

 _"_ _Hey Mace-"_ Sam tried to say but was quickly interrupted.

 _"_ _Sam, I can't talk right now, I need to figure out where Emily is, she's been gone for quite a long time now"_ the boy said with a trace of worry in his voice.

 _"_ _That's actually why I'm calling you, I know where she is"_ Sam managed to tell him before Mason ended the call _"Now, I don't want you to panic, but she's in the hospital"_

Without even asking any questions Mace replied with a simple _"I'm on my way"_ before ending the call and rushing out of the apartment. There was only one hospital nearby, so he knew where he had to go. It was just a 30-minute bus ride, but this time it felt like it took hours for the bus to get there. He was relieved to see his boyfriend waiting for him at the entrance, now he didn't have to ask the anyone where he had to go.

 _"_ _She'll be so happy to see you"_ was the first thing Sam said to him.

 _"_ _So, she's alive?"_ Mace asked as if the question hadn't been answered yet.

 _"_ _Since she wouldn't be able to see you if she wasn't, yes. It's just a broken leg and some scratches, but she's okay"_ Sam informed him.

Now that he was over that first shock and his brain was properly functioning again, he realized he had some questions about this.

 _"_ _Why are you here before I even knew something happened?"_ was his first question, since it didn't make much sense to him. Mace was her emergency contact after all.

 _"_ _Well, you might not like this answer, but I'm part of the reason why she's here"_ Sam said with a guilty look on his face.

Instead of asking for an explanation, Mace just raised his eyebrows and looked at his boyfriend in a way that would deliver the message without using words. They had been together for quite a long time, they didn't always need words to understand each other.

 _"_ _Okay, so you know how Emily is a little addicted to her phone, right?"_ He started his explanation.

Mace nodded his head to say that he did indeed know that. Everyone who knew Emily was aware that she was very attached to her phone.

 _"_ _So, this morning we started talking, because you were too busy to talk to either of us, then she told me she was going out to buy you paint. We kept talking because she wanted someone to keep her company, about 30 minutes later the last text I received was 'I might be on my way to the hospital. Got hit by a car'"_ Sam continued his story.

Mace stopped walking and stared at his boyfriend in disbelief.

 _"_ _Are you telling me that even on her way to the hospital, she still didn't put her phone down?"_ Mace didn't know if he found this impressive or worrying.

 _"_ _She did after that message, because I tried calling her multiple times but she didn't pick up her phone"_ Sam explained _"I called you the moment I arrived at the hospital"_

Before Mace got a chance to ask any more questions, Sam pointed at a door, indicating that this was where he could find his best friend. Polite as he is, Mace knocked on the door first, but he didn't really wait for someone to tell him he could come opened the door, expecting to see his friend asleep or maybe crying because of the pain. What he did not expect was that his friend would be laughing over some show on TV while eating ice cream. No, that was the last thing he expected to girl didn't immediately notice she had visitors, but when she did that made her very happy. She had been craving a hug from her best friend all morning.

 _"_ _Hey"_ she greeted her friend, the excitement clear in her voice. That excitement turned into a combination of fear and guilt when she noticed that her best friend was not about to hug her, but was instead just throwing her a very dirty glare.

 _"_ _I'm sorry"_ She whispered.

Mace took a deep breath before saying anything, knowing that his friend didn't mean for this to happen, so he tried to stay calm. _"Do you have any idea how worried I was, Emily?"_ were the first words he spoke to her _"I- I- I thought something way worse had happened. Something way worse could've happened, I hope you realize that"_ Mace didn't want to make his friend feel worse than necessary, so he tried to hide the panic in his voice. Even though it was definitely there.

 _"_ _I know"_ Emily said while looking down at her hands _"I do know this could've ended badly and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you"_

Seeing the sad look on his friend's face made Mace realize he shouldn't be lecturing his friend right now. So instead he just sat down next to her on the bed and hugged her as tight as he could.

He then whispered, _"please don't ever scare me like this ever again."_

 _"_ _I won't, I promise"_ she whispered back. They then ended the hug and looked at each other, both glad that they had each other.

 _"_ _Ow can you do something for me?"_ Emily asked the two boys.

 _"_ _Sure, what can I do for you?"_ Sam said, since he wanted to something to make him feel less like the third wheel.

 _"_ _When I was in the ambulance they took my phone, could you go get it for me, please?"_ she asked with a laugh.

While Sam just sighed, and left the room to go find the phone, Mace actually stared at his best friend as if she had just asked for something illegal.

 _"_ _You are actually unbelievable"_ Mace said while shaking his head.

 _"_ _I know I am, but you still love me"_ Emily cuddled closer to her best friend. Feeling very blessed that she had such a great best friend.


	4. win

_"_ _No"_

 _"_ _Yes"_

 _"_ _No"_

 _"_ _Yes"_

For the full 10 minutes Mace had been watching his boyfriend and best friend argue as if he was watching a tennis match. The majority of that time they were just kept saying 'yes' or 'no' hoping the other would give up first. He wasn't even sure if they still knew what exactly they were arguing about.

 _"_ _I'm telling you, yes, he would do that"_ Sam now repeated his opinion, proving that he did still know what the argument was about.

 _"_ _And I'm telling you that he's a good person so no, he wouldn't do that"_ Emily now repeated her argument.

 _"_ _You guys do know I'm sitting right here, right?"_ Mace tried to get their attention.

" _I know my boyfriend, babe. He definitely would"_ Sam totally ignored what Mace just said.

 _"_ _And I know my best friend. Unlike you, he's a decent person"_ Emily defended her best friend. Not that he asked her to, but that wasn't the point.

 _"_ _We've had discussion before and he never denied it. I guess that says enough"_ he said. Sam clearly wasn't about to give up any time soon.

 _"_ _Maybe we should ask him then"_ they both looked at Mace _"would you?"_ Emily asked.

This was not what Mace had expected when he said he was sitting right there. This was between the two of them, he didn't want to get involved in this. He usually liked arguing with them, but not about this.

 _"_ _Would I do what?"_ he asked with an innocent smile as if he had no idea what the discussion was about.

Both Sam and Emily rolled their eyes at him. _"Would you or would you not kick your nosey roommate out to have sex with me?"_ adding a wink for good measure.

Nope, he did not want to answer this question, so instead he just got up to get himself a drink. "Does anyone else want something?" he asked, being polite as he is, but also to change the subject.

 _"_ _what about an answer?"_ was the first response he got.

He sighed and put his glass down. This is why he can't have those two in the same room together, something like this was always bound to happen. And in this situation, no matter what he says, it will always be the wrong thing.

 _"_ _I'm not going to answer that question"_ was the only answer he could think of that wouldn't get him into an even bigger argument.

 _"_ _That's a yes then"_ Sam smirked at Emily.

 _"_ _No, that's not a yes. If it were a yes, he would've said yes"_ she threw Sam a dirty look.

 _"_ _It's a yes"_

 _"_ _No, it's not"_

 _"_ _Yes, it is"_

 _"_ _No, it's not"_

While the two friends were arguing again, Mace just stared at them. He couldn't believe they were actually going to spend this entire evening discussing whether he was more dirty or more friendly.

 _"_ _what do you guys think about watching a movie?"_ he asked in an attempt to stop this argument before it became too serious. Not that it seemed to work though, usually they would both fight for his attention, but this time they'd rather keep arguing.

 _"_ _Oh yes, it is, babe"_

 _"_ _No, it's not"_

 _"_ _yes. Yes, it is"_

 _"_ _I'm telling you it's not"_

To be honest, Mace had no idea how to stop this. He had already started the movie, hoping that maybe that would distract them, but it didn't seem like that was working. Suddenly an idea had popped into his mind, it was a bit of a weird plan, but that might've just been what he needed in this situation. Without hesitating he walked over to his boyfriend and kissed him on the lips, interrupting him in the middle of his sentence. Then he moved over to his friend, sat behind her and cuddled her while resting his head on her shoulder. He looked at his boyfriend with his best puppy dog eyes, silently begging him to stop arguing.

 _"_ _No more arguing tonight, okay?"_ Mace said giving his friend a quick kiss on her cheek _"instead of fighting we should just cuddle on the couch and watch a Disney movie"_

Sam and Emily looked at each other then rolled their eyes and said _"Fine"_ almost synchronised. All three of them got up from the floor to sit on the couch that was barely big enough for all of them, to watch what was left of the movie. Emily wasn't surprised to see that after only 10 minutes the boys had fallen asleep in each other's arms, so she turned the TV off and decided to go to sleep as well.

 _"_ _I won though"_ were the last words she said before fell asleep, cuddled up to her favourite person who would never kick her out to be dirty with his boyfriend.


	5. touch you

Emily got up from the couch and walked away from her friend who was had just paused the movie so he could focus on their discussion.

 _I'm just saying that I am older and therefor I did get more learning opportunities, so I must be the genius here"_ she said while grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

 _That doesn't make any sense whatsoever and the fact that you think it does only proves that you are not the genius"_ Mace said, adding an eyeroll to make sure his message was clear.

 _But it does make sense and since I'm the only one who sees that, I am obviously a genius"_ was Emily's reply, making her best friend laugh by sticking her tongue out at him.

 _You are unbelievable, you know that?"_ he laughed. Mace got up to join his friend in the kitchen.

 _I know I am, I'm unbelievably genius"_ Emily was now laughing at her own joke.

 _You are not a genius! Hush up, child"_ he exclaimed, also giggling a bit about what his friend had just said.

 _Make me"_ Emily jokingly whispered in his ear while walking past him.

 _"if you insist."_ Mace grabbed her arm softly and pulled her back into his embrace, pushing their bodies together alongside their lips.

The kiss started getting heated as Mace pushed Emily up against the kitchen counter, trying to grab her legs so that they wrapped around his waist. This would be much easier for the both of them.

Mace smiled into the kiss as he sat Emily down on top of the kitchen counter. He smirked to himself as he pulled away from her for a brief moment causing her to whine and pout a little at the loss of the sweet, soft lips.

 _"Don't worry. There's more where that came from."_ He winked at her before sliding down the counter and pushing her legs apart slightly. Although she still had her jeans on, Mace started licking at where her pussy was covered, causing Emily to let out a small moan at how good it felt even though she could hardly feel the material rubbing against her.

Mace smirked to himself as he continued teasing her like this, before he started unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down so they were around her ankles. He stepped back a moment to take off his shirt, Emily letting out a loud wolf whistle in the process.

Mace shook his head at his best friend as he spread her legs once again, this time he could see how wet she was becoming just from the slight teasing. Instead of the jeans being over her sweet spot, it was only the thin layer of her panties which both were thankful for. Mace started licking her over the panties just as slowly and teasingly as he had done a moment before, this time though Emily moaned a little louder and started tugging on Mace's hair.

 _"Easy there tiger."_ He whispered to her as she continued moaning above him.

Mace continued like this until Emily's panties were practically soaking, he then pulled them from her and gasped at her perfect, pink pussy which was practically glittering with how wet it was.

Mace smiled widely as he leant upwards to kiss his best friend softly but with a little roughness before once again, returning his attention to something he'd grown quite accustomed to in the last few minutes.

Emily moaned and groaned as he practically licked her clean, her head shot back as she came hard with Mace making sure her cum didn't go to waste. After he had got her off, Emily made sure to return the favour and see just how great her best friend tasted.

* * *

Suddenly Emily woke up with a shock. She sat up straight and looked around confused, not instantly realising where she was exactly. It took her a few minutes to get her breathing under control before she could get up to open the window. The breath of fresh air was exactly what she needed to cool down. This wasn't the first time she had a dream like this, so she knew how to handle this situation. Once she felt better she looked at her phone, realising that it was only 1 a.m. and she should probably try to sleep some more. Her bed did look very comfortable, but also very empty and lonely. Then Emily looked at the door for a minute, question whether she should do this or not. Not that this was something she had to think about for a long time though, she always made the same decision anyway. So, Emily opened her door and crossed the hallway to her best friend's room. Without knocking she entered the room as quiet as she possibly could, not wanting to wake the poor guy up. She carefully got into the bed with him and cuddled closer to Mace. Her plan to not wake him up didn't seem to have worked, because her friend turned around and wrapped his arms around her.

 _"another smutty dream?"_ he mumbled, the sleepiness clear in his voice.

 _"Shut up"_ Emily answered, at which they both giggled a bit.

The most comfortable bed in the world could not win it from Emily's favourite place to sleep, cuddled up in her best friend's arms.


	6. give you this day

With a sigh Mace knocked on the door of his apartment. This wasn't the first time he forgot his keys, but he was so tired from school that he didn't have the energy to wait for his roommate to open the door. After what felt like hours to Mace, Emily finally opened the door.

 _"_ _Well hey there, gorgeous"_ his friend greeted him with a smile so bright it could outshine the sun.

 _"_ _Hey"_ he replied with a smile that was barely visible, but it was all he could manage with the little energy he still had left. Without saying anything else he walked to the couch, sat down and rested his head in his hands. It didn't take a genius to figure out there was something wrong the poor guy. So, Emily sat down next to him and repositioned him so that his head was resting in her shoulder and her arms were wrapped around him.

 _"_ _Are you okay?"_ even though the question was already answered by the way her friend had just entered the apartment, she asked him anyway.

 _"_ _I'm fine. Just tired. You know what school can be like"_ was his only answer. It was true, he had told her multiple times about how his schooldays were sometimes and she had her own experiences with school as well of course. So, she understood that her friend didn't really share her enthusiasm today.

 _"_ _I made you something to eat. Would you like to eat now or take a nap first?"_ Emily asked with a soft voice, hoping her friend hadn't fallen asleep on her just yet.

 _"_ _If you don't mind I would like to get some sleep now, but I will definitely eat later. I promise"_ was the answer Emily had already expected to hear.

 _"_ _Okay, sweetheart. I'll just let you sleep for now and wake you up in a few hours"_ Emily was about to get up to go to her own room, when she felt her friend's arms wrap tightly around her waist. _"Please stay. If you don't mind, I would really like it if you could stay for a bit"_ Mace said, with a voice so vulnerable Emily couldn't have said no to him even if she wanted to.

 _"_ _I'll stay. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, you can just close your eyes and get some sleep"_ she whispered while stroking the younger boy's hair. She could feel how Mace drifted off to sleep.

About two hours later Mace woke up. At first he was a little confused about where he was, but when he noticed that he was in his friend's arms he relaxed again. It wasn't until now that he noticed the bottle of kids champagne on the little table in front of the TV. Next to the bottle there were to champagne glasses and a giant bowl of Skittles. Obviously his best friend had put it there earlier, before he arrived at the apartment, he just wondered why she did that. Before he figured out an answer to that question, his eye fell on the kitchen. The table was set and a beautiful candle was placed in the middle of it as part of the decoration. Though the candle looked like it wouldn't be burning much longer, it made the dinner table look that much fancier than it usually does. It wasn't until he saw the five roses placed on the kitchen counter that he realised what all this was for.

 _"_ _Fuck"_ Mace cursed to himself, instantly regretting it when he noticed it had woken his friend up. He closer to her, hoping it would serve as an apology for waking her up _"I'm sorry"_ he whispered.

 _"_ _It's okay, it was about time I woke up anyway"_ Emily smiled down at him.

 _"_ _Not about that, I'm sorry for forgetting about our best friend anniversary"_ the guilt was clear in his voice, but even if it hadn't been, the sad look on his face said everything.

Her best friend being sad was the last thing Emily wanted on a day like this, so she moved to sit up straight, forcing Mace to do the same. When they both were sat facing each other she put her hands on both sides of his face. _"Look at me, there is no need for you to feel guilty about this. All I needed today was having you here and you are, dinner was just my way of saying thank you"_ she comforted her friend.

 _"_ _But you probably put a lot of work in it and I fell asleep on you"_ he looked at his hands still not feeling any less guilty.

 _"_ _You know me, my cooking skills suck. I tried to make chicken for you, but I fucked up many times, so it probably wasn't even good."_ She laughed at her own failing _"It's cold now anyway, so let's just forget about the chicken. Would you like to order pizza?"_

Mace looked up at her again and smiled _"I would love that."_

The smile on the younger boy's face was all Emily needed to see, it was what she was doing this for in the first place. Out of the two of them she had always been the one to make a big deal about their friendship anniversaries. Every year she would throw a mini party in their apartment for the two of them, every 6 months she got him a little gift and every month she'd write him a card to thank him for their friendship. Maybe she made too big of a deal of it sometimes, but she liked how it made her friend smile, so she kept doing it.

 _"_ _I also bought the new Disney movie this morning, maybe we can watch it and eat our pizza in front of the TV?"_ Emily suggested, still staring at how her best friend was smiling.

 _"_ _Sounds like the perfect plan"_ they both looked at each other for quite a long time before Mace realised what his friend was waiting for _"You want me to order the pizza, don't you?"_

Emily let out a nervous laugh _"you know how much I hate making phone calls!"_ they both laughed at this.

 _"_ _You are very lucky I like you so much"_ he said with a wink before getting up to make the call _"in the meantime, maybe you could already get the movie ready?"_ Mace asked her while walking towards the kitchen. Emily nodded at him, but she wasn't planning on moving at all. All she could do was watch her best friend make the phone call, wondering how she ever got so lucky to have a best friend like him.


	7. distract you

A few seconds after she hit send, Emily heard her best friend giggling at the other side of the classroom. They used to sit next to each other, but that was before the teacher decided she was done with their constant talking and laughing. So, for the past two weeks they had been sitting at either side of the classroom. Not that that stopped them from talking though. It took them about two minutes to stop pouting and take out their phones to start texting each other. It wasn't until Emily looked up to look at her best friend that she noticed the rest of the class was giggling as well. She questioned what they found so funny though, since she only sent that text to Mace. When she turned back to the front of the class she found out just what they were laughing about, the teacher had her hand stretched out to her as a silent way of asking her to hand over her phone. With a sigh she put the phone in her hand and slumped back in her chair. Apparently the teacher also figured out who was on the receiving end of her texts, because after she confiscated Emily's phone she walked over to Mace to take his phone as well. Both friends rolled their eyes, now this hour would be even longer than usual.

For a few minutes, Emily stared at the blackboard, still not paying attention to what the teacher was saying. She just stared. That's when she got an idea, there was once a time before smartphones were invented. She took her backpack from the floor and started looking for a piece of paper. At first she thought about just using pages from her book, but since she never payed attention that book was the only thing that could still make her pass this class. Lucky for her there was a piece of paper on the bottom of her bag that looked like something that was once an assignment, but not that that was important right now. Emily ripped a piece of the paper that still looked decent enough to write on. On one side of the little not she wrote a message, then she folded it and wrote "For Mace" on the other side.

 _"_ _Psst"_ she tried to get her neighbour's attention _"psssst"_ she said a little louder and slightly annoyed already. That seemed to have caught the boy's attention.

 _"_ _Pass this on to Mace for me, please"_ she said while subtly handing him the note under the desk.

In this entire class there wasn't a single person Emily could stand, except for Mace of course, but at least the fact that they could pass her notes for her made them somewhat less useless. While the small note travelled through the classroom Emily kept glancing behind her to make sure none of these idiots opened the note. She was very prepared to make a scene if that would've happened, but fortunately for them the not got to Mace unopened. When Mace got the piece of paper with his name on, he tried to give his best friend a disapproving look, but it looked more like he was trying very hard not laugh.

 _How dare she think she can keep us apart – Me xx_

Mace chuckled and shook his head as he read what was on the note. He should've known his friend wouldn't give up that easy. Quickly he started looking for a piece of paper as well, but he couldn't find anything he could use to send his friend a message back. Using gestures, he let her know that he didn't have any paper, at which Emily rolled her eyes at him and wrote another not. This time it was Mace who closely followed the note's journey through the classroom.

 _Only you could come to school without bringing any paper ;) – Still me xx_

Since he couldn't write anything back he just glared at her very intensely, causing her to giggle a bit. Lucky for them the fact that Mace couldn't send a message back wasn't that big of a problem, because the bell rang and they were finally free to go home. They almost escaped the classroom without getting a lecture when they realised they still had to get their phones back. The two friends looked at each other, telepathically discussing whether or not they really needed their phones, before turning back to walk over to the teacher's desk.

 _"_ _Miss, can we please get our phones back?"_ Mace asked in a soft and slightly scared voice.

That was worst decision they made all day. It took another 15 minutes before they were finally able to escape and leave the school building.

 _"_ _I thought she was never going to stop talking"_ Emily said, pretty excited about finally being able to really talk to her friend again.

She hooked her arm around his while walking away from the school building. Not that she'd got to do that for very long, because about 50 meter from the school Sam was waiting for them. Emily could just feel how he was already glaring at her.

 _"_ _aw, are you here for me?"_ She asked him, adding a wink to really piss him off.

 _"_ _No. I am here to claim my boyfriend again"_ Sam responded, taking Mace's hand and pulling him in for a kiss.

Emily rolled her eyes _"Did I ever tell you I don't like you?"_

 _"_ _A few times"_ Sam was now the one to wink at her.

This happened every day, but Mace still sighed every time it did. _"You guys are unbelievable. Let's go, I'm done with this place for today."_

The three of them started walking to the bus stop, Mace walking in the middle in an attempt to keep them from arguing even more.

 _"_ _How about I buy you guys some ice cream? I've got lots of homework I'm trying to avoid."_ Emily suggested with a smile, walking backwards in front of them to be able to look at them while talking.

 _"_ _Please don't fall"_ Mace said, being concerned about his friend.

 _"_ _Now that would be funny"_ Sam said, which earned him a push from his boyfriend's elbow in his side.

 _"_ _Guys, I'm asking a serious question here"_ she said as she completely ignored both of her friends' comments and her smile grew even wider.

 _"_ _Sure, sounds good. As long as you don't make any inappropriate comments involving me and ice cream. And that goes for the both of you"_ Mace said while giving both Sam and Emily a warning look.

 _"_ _We'll just see about that"_ Sam replied and kissed the top of his boyfriend's head.


	8. call you

" _Of course_ _we can watch another Christmas movie._ " Emily said as she put down her bag and took her coat off. Mace had an adorable smile on his face while also taking his coat off and immediately changing into his pyjamas. While she got the laptop ready Emily was already giggling.

" _What's so funny?_ " Mace asked with a confused look on his face.

" _Nothing_ " she said as she winked at her best friend.

" _You confuddle me._ " Mace mumbled as he got comfortable on the bed.

" _Everything confuddles you!_ " This time they were both laughing. After she found the right movie and pressed play, Emily joined her best friend on the bed. After some squirming and moving around Mace's plushies they finally found a comfortable position for the both of them. Emily was leaning against the headboard of the bed which gave Mace the opportunity to use her as a pillow. His head was resting on Emily's belly and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. That was Emily's favourite part about watching a movie with her friend.

They were about 15 minutes into the movie whrn Emily got really thirsty. " _Mace could you get up for a bit? I want to go get a drink._ "

No reaction. " _Pssst. Can I get up, please?_ "

He still didn't reply or move at all. He was completely still except for the subtle rise and fall of his body when he was breathing in and out. This made Emily giggle again. " _I knew you'd fall asleep soon."_ She mumbled to herself. Instead of getting a drink she decided to just stay in bed. It was a long and exhausting day, so waking him up now didn't seem like a good idea. She just looked at her best friend for a bit and then tried to follow the movie again. Though it didn't seem so interesting anymore now that she was watching it alone. After a few minutes Emily took her phone that she put next to the bed before she took a seat. She scrolled through her contacts looking for the person she wanted to talk to. A little smile appeared on her face when she saw his name on her screen. She pressed the button that started the call and waited. The sound that indicated the phone was ringing and she had to wait always made her nervous, somehow she was always scared he wouldn't pick up. There was a little sigh of relief when she heard the familiar voice on the other side.

" _What's up, buttercup?_ " Sam's voice sounded sweet and a little sleepy. It was silentl for a few seconds before Emily replied.

" _Nothing. I just really wanted to hear your voice._ "

"Well I'm glad I picked up then." Sam never had to say much to make Emily feel the way she was hoping to feel after she talked to him. Just a few words and she was already feeling safe.

" _How was your day?_ " Even though it was obvious that they were both tired Emily still wanted to keep the conversation going for a bit longer.

" _My day was okay. How was your day?_ " The sleepiness in his voice didn't hide the fact that the question was genuin. Something Emily had always appreciated about him. She loved his honesty and how he wouldn't ask a question if he didn't really care about the answer.

" _My day was good actually, thank you._ " And it wasn't even a lie this time. It had really been a good day. Sam must've known it was true, because he didn't question it. She couldn't fool her friend, he always knew if something was up.

" _I think you should take the little shit's example and head to bed as well, babe._ " She didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling. Mace always falling asleep first was kind of the running joke in their little friendship.

" _Yeah, he does have some good ideas sometimes._ " they both laughed silently, as if Sam also tried to make sure Mace wouldn't wake up. " _Will I hear from you in the morning?_ " Every time she asked this same question.

" _Of course you will._ " And every time she knew it wouldn't happen. But that was okay, because she knew that if she needed him, he'd be there.

" _Goodnight, handsome._ "

" _Goodnight, gorgeous._ " Emily rolled her eyes before hanging up the phone, hoping he felt that she did that. Then she hung up and put the phone down. She stroked her best friend's hair one more time, wondering what she did to deserve such amazing friends. It was a miracle that after all this time they still loved her, and she cherished every second she got to sownd with them. Eventually she felt herself getting sleepy and closed her eyes. Already looking forward to starting another day with the most amazing friends in the world.


End file.
